System, method and apparatus for coupon processing and booklet

ABSTRACT

A coupon manager is provided including a front end, back end and a central processor for facilitating the processing and settlement of coupons. The coupons are received from customers at the front end which may include a cashier register. The cashier scans a bar code on the coupons and the scanned information may be supplied to the back end. The received coupons are delivered to the back end for imaging and processing. The back end determines whether the coupons are valid. Valid coupons are destroyed and sent to a destruction bin, and invalid coupons may be sent to one of a number of other bins. The processed information is forwarded to the central processor which collates the information from a number of stores and reports the information to manufacturers for settlement. The present invention also provides a booklet having a listing of discounted items identifiable by a single bar code. The items may be arranged by types of goods or manufacturers and/or in alphabetical order so as to facilitate the use thereof by a customer. The booklet may be useable by itself or with coupon manager.

[0001] This application is based on the copending provisionalapplication (U.S. Ser. No. 60/086,045) filed May 19, 1998 which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a system, method and apparatusfor processing coupons and more particularly to a system, method andapparatus for facilitating the verification and settlement of coupons.The present invention relates to a booklet and a system therefor forprocessing information relating to discounts of items listed therein.

[0003] Coupons are used by a large number of people to obtain discountson a variety of products, such as food items. Such coupons may bepresented to a retailer by a customer at the time of sale. The retailermay send the coupons to a clearinghouse which is operated by aclearinghouse corporation where valid coupons are identified. The validcoupons are sent to the manufacturer who redeems the retailer for thediscount.

[0004] Retailers are typically short-changed by accepting coupons. Toexplain, retailers essentially lose money on each discounted item andcount on being redeemed. Unfortunately, the clearinghouse all too oftenmishandles the coupons which leaves the retailers unreimbursed. When itis considered that retailers accept volumes of coupons each week, itwill be immediately recognized that lost income due tocoupon-mishandling costs the retail industry huge sums each year.

[0005] Manufacturers often lose money when, for example, the cashier orthe store submits more coupons than entitled. Sometimes this is doneintentionally in order to defraud the manufacturer. Worse, by the timethe manufacturer discovers the fraud the culprit has long absconded.

[0006] Consumers find coupons to be more hassle than their worth.Detached or detachable coupons are unkempt and clutters one's pockets orpocket book. Moreover, coupons are unorganized and it is difficult tofind the desired coupon when needed such as when checking out. Thedisorganized nature of coupons also makes it difficult to keep track ofvalid coupons such as coupons which have not expired.

[0007] What is needed is a system which facilitates the verification andsettlement of coupons.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a techniquewhich facilitates processing of coupons for a plurality of stores.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a couponmanager system operable for use with a plurality of stores and having acentral processor and a number of front ends and a back end apparatusfor each store.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a couponmanager system as aforesaid wherein the central processor provides aninformation useable for auditing purposes.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a booklethaving a plurality of items with information identifiable with a singlebar code.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a systemfor processing the booklet.

[0013] In accordance with the foregoing objects, there is provided acoupon manager system for processing coupons in a predetermined manner.The predetermined manner in at least one embodiment determines aredemption value of the coupons. In one aspect of the present invention,the coupon manager system includes a front end cash register at thepoint of sale, a back end for processing the coupons received and acentral processing computer for receiving and collating the processedcoupon information. The central processing computer may collate thecoupon information from a plurality of retail stores and send reports tomanufacturers. The central processing computer may function as anauditing system which maintains account balances of redemption valuesowed and paid.

[0014] The back end which may be operated independently as an apparatusincludes in at least one embodiment an image scanner for imaging thecoupons. A central processing unit determines the validity of thecoupons based on matching coupons with transactions and/ormanufacturers. In one aspect of the present invention, the back endapparatus destroys the valid coupons. The back end apparatus may includeone or more bins for receiving the processed coupons including adestruction bin for receiving the destroyed coupons, a non-participatingbin for receiving coupons of manufacturers not participating in thecoupon manager service, an exception bin for receiving coupons of ananomalous nature such as coupons which cannot be assigned to atransaction or manufacturer and a future bin reserved for futureapplications.

[0015] A booklet of the present invention includes front and back coversand pages. A listing is provided which lists the product discounts. Asingle bar code is provided for a plurality of items to be discounted.In at least one embodiment, the listing of the booklet is an index or atable-of-contents. The index may be organized according to any number ofcategories including the type of product, price and manufacturer. Thebooklet may be color coded for ease of access. In addition, the bookletmay include additional information such as coupon advertisements,sweepstakes or cash prizes. The booklet may include any type of coupon,rebate or other form of redemption including a credit which is creditedto a credit account. The booklet may be incorporated in an integratedsystem or utilized independent of the coupon manager system such as in anon-integrated system.

[0016] Other objects, features and advantages according to the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof the illustrated embodiments when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which corresponding components are identifiedby the same reference numerals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017]FIG. 1 is a diagram of the coupon manager system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

[0018]FIGS. 2A and B are diagrams to which reference will be made inexplaining drawings of the coupon manager system of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIGS. 3A-3I are diagrams to which reference will be made inexplaining drawings of the coupon manager system of FIG. 1;

[0020] FIGS. 4A-4C are diagrams to which reference will be made inexplaining drawings of the coupon manager system of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIGS. 5A and B are diagrams of the system for processing thebooklet of the present invention;

[0022] FIGS. 6A-6F illustrate an example of the booklet of the presentinvention; and

[0023] FIGS. 7A-7G illustrate an example of the booklet of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The coupon manager system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a frontend 102, a back end 104 and a central processor 106 for processingcoupons. The front end 102 receives coupons in exchange for goodspurchased at a discount. The back end apparatus 104 processes thecoupons in a predetermined manner. The central processor 106 receivesthe processing information relating to the coupons from a number of backend units located at a number of stores. The central processor 106collates the information and forwards the same either electronically orotherwise to the appropriate manufacturer(s) 108. Thus, the presentinvention advantageously replaces the clearinghouse with a couponmanager system which facilitates the verification and settlement ofcoupons.

[0025] The front end 102 may be situated at the point of sale of aretail store which comprises a number of cash registers each operated bya cashier. Each cash register may include a bar code reader 103 such asan in-lane scanner which uses an optical system such as a laser forreading bar codes which may be located on the coupons. The bar codescanner may scan universal product codes, coupon prefixes (5 or 99),company codes, family codes, value codes and/or check digit codes. Thecashier operates the bar code scanner by scanning the bar code on thecoupon. The transaction is electronically recorded by the cash registerand forwarded. thereby to the back end apparatus 104. Data of the barcode may be forwarded to the back end apparatus. In addition, thecashier may enter an override on a keypad which inputs transactionalinformation of a discount relating to a coupon which cannot be read bythe bar code scanner. Other information such as the cashieridentification which identifies the cashier may be entered at the cashregister and forwarded to the back end apparatus for processing with thecoupons.

[0026] The back end apparatus 104 receives the coupons at an input 110which may be a hopper or receptacle for receiving the coupons. Thehopper may shuffle the coupons by mechanical, vibration or air operationby the use of air jets, suction cups and so forth to a scanner 112.

[0027] The scanner 112 which may be controlled by the central processingunit 114 (CPU) scans each coupon received from the input 110 so as toobtain an image of one or both sides of the coupon. In at least oneembodiment, the scanner obtains an image by, for example, use ofphoto-optics. The scanner 112 may be a grey scale scanner which encodesthe colors of the coupon using either shades of grey or numerical codes.The scanner 112 is preferably a digital type scanner which obtainsdigital signals. Alternatively, an analog type scanner may be utilized.In at least one embodiment, the central processing unit 114 digitallypre-processes the digital image of the coupon by removing imperfectionstherefrom by use of imaging techniques. Such digital processing maysignificantly improve the accuracy of detecting the bar code as comparedto the in-lane reader. It will be immediately appreciated that theimproved accuracy advantageously reduces the number of couponserroneously rejected due to a misreading of the coupon.

[0028] All or a portion of the digital image of the coupon may be storedin a memory 116 of the back-end apparatus 104. The central processingunit 114 may store in the memory 116 or any other suitable recordingmedium the coupon images for a predetermined amount of time such as 90or 180 days for purposes of maintaining a record of the image.Advantageously, manufacturers will appreciate that the image recordsprovide a paperless confirmation of the redemption process which may beused as an integrity check to reassure the manufacturer.

[0029] A coupon may have a universal product code (JPC) or an expandedbar code. The universal product code (UPC) may be sufficient foridentifying products and prices or discounts. However, the UPC mayprovide little, if any, additional information some of which may beuseful as marketing data. On the other hand, the expanded bar code mayprovide information for identifying the product and its price ordiscount and may also provide additional information such as a companycode, a family code, a value code, a check digit code and otherinformation useful as marketing data. Until now, retailers andmanufacturers were content with UPC mainly because the UPC is theuniversally-accepted standard. In addition, the excessive cost ofspecialized scanners which read expanded bar codes has dissuadedretailers. The digitization of the bar code image as prescribed by thepresent invention allows the expanded bar code image to be analyzeddigitally by the central processing unit 114 thereby obviating the needfor specialized scanners.

[0030] The predetermined manner in which the central processing unit 114processes the coupons may determine which coupons are redeemable by themanufacturer. In addition, or in the alternative, the predeterminedmanner processes the coupons to determine marketing informationincluding, for example, information indicating the family or householdfrom which the coupon is submitted or the name of the company ormanufacturer. The information produced may be either a complete databaseof information or a summary of information relating to the coupons. Thepresent invention may provide truncated information representing asubset of information such as a subset of stored images which is sent tothe manufacturer as an integrity check representing the credibility ofthe summary information. The information produced may be coupled to thedigital images of the coupons such that a combined database ofinformation and related images is formed. The information may be printedby a local printer (not shown) or transferred either electronically orotherwise to the central processing system 106.

[0031] In determining which coupons are redeemable by the manufacturer,the central processing unit 114 validates each coupon. The centralprocessing unit 114 may also determine whether the manufacturer isvalid. Validity may be determined by matching the coupon as identifiedby the bar code to a transaction with reference to information stored,for example, in the memory 116 which may be preloaded from any suitablemeans including a recordable medium or downloaded automatically fromsources such as the central processing system 106 or an on-line sourcesuch as the internet.

[0032] When the central processing unit 114 determines that a coupon isvalid for redemption, the coupon is directed to a coupon destroyer 120which destroys or physically alters the coupon to indicate that thecoupon is not to be reused. The coupon destroyer 120 may destroy thecoupons by spraying a liquid such as indelible ink or dye on the coupon,imparting a physical abrasion on the coupon or burning the coupon bydirecting a laser thereon. In at least one embodiment, the coupon isleft substantially intact such that the coupon can later be identifiedafter destruction for purposes of auditing. The coupon destroyer 120 maycut, shred or obliterate the coupon entirely. In addition, the coupondestroyer may be a spinning wheel(s) which may include a hub and spokeswhich perforate the coupon as the wheel(s) spins. The destroyed couponsare collected in a destruction bin or basket 122 whereby, in at leastone embodiment, the destroyed coupons are arranged in an orderly mannerand may be categorized according to product or manufacturer by meansoperated by the central processing unit 114. The destroyed coupons maybe subsequently sent to the respective manufacturer with a report.

[0033] Coupons which are determined by the central processing unit 114as originating from manufacturers who are not participants in the couponmanager system are directed to a non-participating coupon basket or bin124. Coupons which have expired according to an expiration date may alsobe sent by the central processing unit 114 to the non-participatingcoupon basket 124. When the central processing unit 114 identifies ananomaly in processing a particular coupon, the anomalous coupon isdirected to an exception basket or bin 126. The CPU 114 determines ananomaly, for example, when the number of coupons as counted by a counter118 does not match the number of transactions for the coupons. A futureapplications basket or bin 128 is provided which is reserved for futureapplications such as for receiving those coupons which cannot be readeither by the scanner 112 or the central processing unit 114.

[0034] The central processing unit 114 may detect local coupons whichare redeemed by the retailer or a local company other than themanufacturer and directs the local coupons to, for example, thenon-participating coupon basket 124. Hard to handle coupons such as“buy-one get-one-free up to a predetermined price” are directed by thecentral processing unit 114 to, for example, the future application'sbasket 128.

[0035] A keypad 129 may be provided for entering information such as theidentification number of the operator or cashier. A display 131 may beprovided for displaying the operations or information relating to theresult of processing by the back end apparatus 104.

[0036] The central processing unit 114 may arbitrarily assign coupons totransactions conducted at the front end 102. For example, “n” number ofcoupons as counted by counter 118 may be matched arbitrarily with “m”number of transactions. In this manner, the actual transaction for aparticular coupon is not necessarily matched with the associated coupon.For example, when a cashier overrides a transaction, there may be lesscoupons than transactions. In addition, a local printer 115 may beprovided which prints information relating to the processing of the backend apparatus 104.

[0037] It will be appreciated that the present invention prevents fraudby quickly and accurately determining the redemption value of coupons.In addition, the central processing unit 114 may run a series of fraudsecurity programs on the coupons processed. Such programs may includetabulating unlikely mixes of coupons, unlikely redemption rates by thecashier or the store and comparisons of coupon cuts to look for gangcuts. Suspicious results may be noted on the manufacturer's report.

[0038] Coupon information processed by the back end apparatus 104 of anumber of retail stores is forwarded to the central processing system106. The information may be transferred to the central processing system106 at predetermined intervals such as nightly. The central processingsystem 106 processes the received information which may involvecollating the information in a predetermined manner such as bymanufacturer or type of goods so as to generate a report. The centralprocessing system 106 may generate reports including special enhancedreports, multiple reports and/or the digital images. The report may bebroken out by retailer's store. The reports may be available over asecured internet access or the like. The reports may further includeinformation such as time of redemption, information contained in thecoupon bar code and/or information indicating the product purchased withthe coupon. The reports may include a summary/detailed report of allitems processed for settlement. The reports may also indicate why acoupon or coupons were not processed, such as for failure of having abar code, only having a partial bar code, hand-written coupon, expiredcoupon and so forth. The report may indicate the total redemption value.In addition, or in the alternative, the report may break down the couponredemption by categories of goods and may provide an analysis of thescanned image of the coupon. The report may include grand totals as wellas sub-totals. The reports may be supplied to any desired partyincluding the manufacturer, retailer or service corporation.

[0039] It is within the scope of the present invention to provide asystem which maintains account balances between retailers, manufacturersand a service corporation which operates the present invention based onthe information processed by the central processor 106. For example, thecentral processing system 106 may arrange to electronically transferfunds between the manufacturers and the retailers in response to thecoupon information result.

[0040] The present system may process several different forms of couponsincluding, for example, individual coupons in the form of a two-sidedslip of paper, coupons coupled together or flyers. The present systemmay process information on more than one side of the coupon such as thebar code on one side and family information on the other side.

[0041] Operations performed by the system of FIG. 1 will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. The purchase basketanalysis and coupon manager II will be described with reference to FIG.4C.

[0042] In FIG. 2A, coupons 202 are read by an ECR (Electronic CashierRegister) bar code reader 204 which may be coupled to a cash register inthe front end 102. The information corresponding to the bar code of thecoupon is transferred to store server 206. The store server 206authorizes the discount transaction and forwards the discount amount tothe cashier register.

[0043] The bar codes may be decoded using a sniffer 208 which may be aline tap between the cash register and the store server 206. Bar codeinformation detected by the sniffer 208 is coupled to a buffer 210 ofthe back end apparatus 104 which stores the bar code information. Inaddition, the transactional information may be stored in the buffer 210.

[0044] The back end apparatus 104 receives the coupons 202 at input 210(110) and processes the same. The processing is generally indicated byreference numeral 212 wherein the coupons are scanned at 214, validatedat 216 and destroyed at 218. The coupons are determined as valid on thebasis of the data in the buffer 210 (122). Destroyed coupons aredirected to the destruction basket 220. It is also possible that thedata of the valid coupon images are stored in the buffer 210. Couponsdetermined by the processing as being redeemable by non-participatingmanufacturers are directed to the non-participating coupon basket 222(124). Coupons determined as anomalous such as coupons which have notransaction associated therewith are forwarded to the exception basket224 (126).

[0045]FIG. 2B shows the coupon and information flow which may beperformed in the back-end 104. In step S226, the coupons are input. Thecoupons are imaged in step S228 and stored in step S230. Couponvalidation is determined in step S232 and, if invalid, are directed tothe exception bin in step S234. If the coupons are anomalous, they areforwarded to the non-participating bin in step S236. If the couponsoriginate from a non-participating manufacturer, they may be sent to thenon-participating bin in step S238 which is reserved for futureapplications. The coupons may be validated in accordance with thecompany, family, value codes or the expiration date. Upon validation,the valid coupons are destroyed in step S240 and forwarded to thedestruction bin in step S242. Reports are generated in detail and/orsummary in step S244 based on the results of the processing in stepsS232-240 and the reports may be electronically transferred to themanufacturer in step S246.

[0046] The processing of different types of coupons is explained withreference to FIGS. 3A-I. It will be appreciated that the presentinvention is not limited to the particular types of coupons illustratedand may include other types of coupons as well.

[0047]FIG. 3A sets forth the processing steps for processing normalcoupons. According to the present invention, normal coupons offerdiscounts to potential consumers for a product identified on the couponas indicated by a bar code. In step S300, the normal coupon isidentified. The normal coupon in step S301 is scanned and the UPC isread in step S302. In at least one embodiment, the scanning and readingis performed digitally. It is determined in step S303 whether the couponhas been validly read. When the coupon is not validly read, informationrepresenting this state is generated and stored by the processor 114into memory 116 in step S304 and the coupon is forwarded to theexception bin in step S305. If the coupon is validly read, informationis generated indicating that the coupon is readable in step S306.

[0048] In the matching process of step S307, the coupon is matched to atransaction at the point of sale. In at least one embodiment, thematching process matches the coupon to the corresponding transaction atthe point of sale. In the alternative, the matching process arbitrarilyassigns coupons to transactions based on the type of transaction ratherthan matching actual transactions with corresponding coupons. When nomatch is detected, information is generated and stored to the ECR filein step S308 and the coupon is forwarded to the exception bin in stepS305. However, if a match is detected, processor generates and storesinformation indicating valid matches in the ECR file in step S309. In atleast one embodiment, a record of the valid and/or invalid matches ismaintained and checked in the matching process of step S307 to preventthe same coupon from being used for a multiple of items or times. Instep S310, the scanned image of the validly-matched coupons are storedin memory 116 (FIG. 1). In step S311, the stored images are indexed foreasy access. The coupon records are stored in a database in step S312and the valid coupons are destroyed in step S313.

[0049]FIG. 3B sets forth the steps for processing “manufacturer”coupons. Manufacturer coupons are input at step S314 and scanned at stepS315. If the coupon is not scannable, the code (such as a UPC code) isentered manually in step S316. In at least one embodiment, the manualinput may include a so-called 992 bypass code or a general manufacturercode. In either case, processor control advances to step S317 where itis determined whether the coupon is valid based on validity informationreceived from a device in step S318 or the buffer 210 (FIG. 2A) in stepS319. Such validity information may include the product, the expirationdate and/or the manufacturer. Invalid coupons are returned to thecustomer with no discount in step S320; whereas, if the coupon(s) isvalid, customers receive the discount, credit or rebate in step S321.

[0050]FIG. 3C sets forth the processing steps for processing “in-store”coupons. An in-store coupon is redeemed directly by the retailer or by alocal entity such as a distributor in contrast with a national orregional coupon which is redeemed by a manufacturer. Heretofore,clearinghouses erroneously disposed of in-store coupons althoughdirected to return such coupons to the retailer. The present inventionadvantageously processes in-store coupons. Steps S322-329 are similar tothe steps in FIG. 3B except the processing in step S325 processes thein-store coupon.

[0051]FIG. 3D illustrates the processing of “free-item with purchase inthe same category” coupons (hereinafter “free-item coupons). Thefree-item coupon credits the consumer to receive a free item with thepurchase of another item in the same category. The process issubstantially the same as shown in FIG. 3A for processing a normalcoupon except that the processing in step S337 stores the credit inmemory 216 (FIG. 2A) to the customer for the category of the itempurchased. This category may be, for example, food groups, appliances,electronics, clothes or other retail goods. The credit may be stored ina database temporarily in the buffer 210 (FIG. 2A), for example.

[0052]FIG. 3E shows the processing steps for processing a “free-item”coupon. The free-item coupon entitles the consumer to a free item. Itwill be appreciated that steps S344-S357 are similar to the steps shownin FIG. 3A for processing the normal coupon except that the processingin step S351 stores the credit of the free item to the customer.

[0053]FIG. 3F sets forth the processing of coupons which have no barcode on the package. It will be appreciated that the processing stepsS358-S362 are a subset of FIG. 3A wherein it is decided that the barcode is not readable in step S361 and the coupon is sent to theexception bin in step S362. In the present invention, the coupon may beaccepted in any event by manual input as set forth in steps S316 andS324 of FIGS. 3B and 3C.

[0054]FIG. 3G sets forth the steps S362-S375 for processing “multiplepurchase” coupons of the same brand. A multiple purchase coupon for thesame brand entitles a consumer to apply the coupon a multiple of timesto the same brand. Multiple purchase coupons may also be applied toother brands, manufacturers or categories. It will be appreciated thatthe processing steps are similar to the processing steps for a normalcoupon as in FIG. 3A except that the processing in FIG. 3G stores theinformation crediting the number of times the coupon may be applied toany number of future transactions.

[0055]FIG. 3H sets forth the steps S376-S389 for processing “either/or”coupons which is similar to processing of the normal coupon in FIG. 3A.Either/Or coupons entitle the consumer to receive a discount for one ormore of a plurality of goods. As illustrated in step S383, first andsecond items are matched separately to different transactions. If thefirst item matches a transaction, then processing proceeds to step S385for the first item. Similarly, if the second item matches a transaction,then processing proceeds to step S385 for the second item. Otherwise,the processing proceeds to step S384 for either the first or second itemwhich does not match a transaction.

[0056]FIG. 3I sets forth the steps S390-S3103 for processing“cross-category” coupons which is similar to processing of the normalcoupon in FIG. 3A except that in step S397 the processor determineswhether the coupon applies to the category of the item to be purchased.A cross-category coupon entitles the consumer to receive a discount forgoods in different categories, such as groceries, appliances, clothing,electronics or the like. The categories may also be groups such as foodgroups, appliance groups, clothing groups or electronics groups or thelike. The processing stores the categories within which the consumer isentitled to a discount.

[0057] The booklet of the present invention may be utilized with thecoupon manager system 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1-3.However, the booklet of the present invention is not limited and,alternatively, may be utilized with other systems such as those shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B.

[0058]FIG. 4A illustrates a non-integrated system 400. In such system,sales transactions may be scanned by scanner 406 at cash register 402and transferred and recorded to store server 404. Such arrangement maybe easily incorporated into an existing store. The system of FIG. 4Aincludes a central processing computer 408 which is coupled to the storeserver 404 by any suitable means including wired or wirelesscommunication.

[0059] In operation, the central processing computer 408 storespredetermined information relating to discounts in the store server 404.As items or goods are scanned using scanner 406, associatedtransactional information is forwarded to the store server 404. When thescanner 406 scans a discount coupon, recognized by the UPC code, thestore server 404 accesses the information stored therein to determinewhether the coupon is redeemable. In at least one embodiment, the couponis a booklet of discounts with a single UPC code Such booklet is morefully described hereinafter.

[0060]FIG. 4B shows an integrated system 412 of the present invention.Similar to the system of FIG. 4A, the integrated system includes a cashregister 414 and a scanner 416 in communication with the store server418. In this embodiment, a tap 420 (which may be a line tap) taps thecommunication between the cash register 414 or scanner 416 and the storeserver 418. Back end apparatus 422 determines whether the informationreceived identifies the booklet of the present invention and/ordiscounts for items. The store server 418 determines the discount basedon the discount information forwarded by the back end apparatus. Thediscounts are relayed to the cash register 414. The back-end apparatus422 may be similar to the back end apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and mayoperate similarly. A central processing computer 424 is coupled to theback end apparatus 422 for processing the discount information. Thecentral processing computer 424 may be similar to the central processingcomputer shown in FIG. 1 and may operate similarly. The processeddiscount information is forwarded to the respective manufacturers 426for settlement. As in the embodiment of FIG. 1, various reports relatingto the discount information may be forwarded to the manufacturers.

[0061] The discount information and the reports prepared by the centralprocessing computer 424 may be available or supplied to themanufacturers by way of a website on the internet or on-line service.The discount information may include, for example, informationcorresponding to the total redemption value owed to a particularretailer and/or the break down of the discounts. The website, or as astand-alone application, may enable electronic fund transfer capabilitywhich electronically transfers funds between the retailer, manufacturerand service corporation based on account balances generated by theprocessing. Processing of the booklet will now be further explained withreference to FIG. 4C.

[0062] Coupons or booklet 428 are scanned by ECR bar code reader 430.The scanned bar code information is supplied to store server 432. Thestore server 432, based on a comparison result to be explained, outputsto display 434 the discounted value of the items to be purchased.Alternatively, a gun 438 may be provided for scanning the bar code ofthe booklet 428 wherein a controller 436, based on a comparison to beexplained, determines which products if any are to be discounted andforwards the information to the store server 432. A printer 440 may beprovided to print information corresponding to the discount. A tap 442(which may be a line tap) taps the communication between the reader 430and the store server 432 to obtain transactional information andforwards the same to a buffer 444 for storage thereat.

[0063] The scanned coupons may be supplied to an input coupon basket448. A scanner 450 scans the coupons and the processor validates thecoupons at 452 based on the data stored in the buffer 444. Valid couponsare slated to be destroyed in 454 and forwarded to a destruction basketin 464. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1, an exception basket 456 anda non-participating basket 458 are provided. In addition, a purchasebasket analysis processing is performed 460 based on the information inthe buffer 444 which determines the purchases. A secondary back endapparatus 462 which repeats or simultaneously performs the processinghereindescribed may be provided for full redundancy.

[0064]FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate examples of the booklet 600(700) of thepresent invention. The coupon booklet 600(700) is envisioned for use bya potential customer to receive discounts for corresponding items in thebooklet purchased at any number of stores. The booklet comprises a frontcover 602(702) and a back cover 604(704) which share a common edge606(706). In addition to the front and back covers, the booklet maycontain a number of in-between pages such as those shown in FIGS. 6B-Fand 7B-F which are coupled to the common edge. As shown in FIG. 6B forexample, the booklet includes a listing 608(708) of a plurality of itemsand prices associated therewith which may present discounts. The listingmay also be on the front and back covers or the inside flap thereof. Asshown in FIG. 7A, the booklet may include as shown in FIG. 7A, a singlebar code 710 for identifying the plurality of items 712 to which theconsumer is entitled to discount(s) 614(714) when scanned in a salestransaction. In at least one embodiment, the front and back covers andthe in-between pages are coupled together so that the front and backcover and in-between pages are pivotable about the common edge in abook-like manner from an open position to a closed position. It will beappreciated that the single bar code of the booklet of the presentinvention may be replaced with another form of identification such as aserial number or the like.

[0065] A booklet may be considered a small scale edition of a book.Although the booklet may be of any size, as illustrated in FIG. 6 and 7,the booklet may have the dimensions of 3½×6 inches which is found to bea convenient size which is small enough to be carried but large enoughnot to be misplaced as well as identifiable in a container such as apocket or hand bag. The booklet may be a collection of sheets fastenedtogether along one edge. The book or booklet may be trimmed at the otheredges to form a single series of uniform leaves. In the alternative, thebooklet may be a collection of folded sheets bound between covers into avolume. In addition, the booklet may be a stack of sheets of paperinterleaved alternately with the material.

[0066] The listing of items in the booklet may be formed in an index ortable-of-contents form such that the items are organized according to apredetermined manner such as alphabetical order, food groups, discountprices, manufacturer or the like. The index or table-of-contents may bearranged according to the type of product such as groceries, appliances,cameras, clothing, cookware, electronics, footwear, furniture, jewelry,watches, outerwear or the like. Sub-headings may be provided, forexample, for each group which are arranged according to a manufacturer,product-line or the like. The index or table-of-contents may besegregated by lateral dividing lines 616(716) shown in FIGS. 6B and 7C,for example, which segregate the different indices or contents accordingto, for example, category. The lateral dividing lines may bevariably-spaced such that an area between adjacent lateral lines isvariable.

[0067] It is also within the present invention to arrange the items fordiscount according to combinations of items which the retailer and/ormanufacturer wish to combine for sale such as baby food and diapers orpeaches and cream. Sometimes it is desired to combine in the bookletundersold items with popular items such as combining pork rinds whichare undersold with more popular products such as bacon.

[0068] It is within the scope of the present invention to arrange theitems for discount with prominent headings 618(718). In at least oneembodiment, the headings are prominently displayed in a larger font-size620(720) than the products 622(722) and/or arranged prior to therespective products. It will be appreciated that this feature of thepresent invention advantageously allows the potential customer to morequickly identify the goods.

[0069] It is also within the present invention to color-code thebooklet. For example, the prominent headings may be color-coded withdifferent colors, such as green 624(724) for groceries, blue 626 forelectronics, silver 728 for appliances and multi-colors 730 for film andcamera products. Although it is shown in the figures that the headingsare color coded, portions or entire areas corresponding to, for example,different categories of goods may be color coded. It will be appreciatedthat color-coding advantageously assists the consumer to quickly locatedesired discounts.

[0070] The booklet of the present invention may also provide a miniaturepicture 732 positioned proximate or adjacent the item entitled to thediscount. In at least one embodiment, the miniature picture is aminiature of an actual photograph of the product. It will be instantlyrecognized that the use of such miniature pictures is extremely usefulto the consumer in identifying the product. Combined with the index ortable-of-contents, the potential consumer quickly determines from theindex or table-of-contents the discount information and instantly ismade aware and confirms by visually inspecting the miniature picture theproduct to be purchased.

[0071] In addition, or in the alternative, the booklet of the presentinvention includes additional advertisements and/or information. Thismay include sweepstakes information or instant savings information 734which awards the consumer with a prize such as cash or credit or a tripin exchange for particular uses of the booklet in order to entice theconsumers to use the booklet. The information may also include coupons736 prominently displayed in noticeable portions of the booklet such asthe inner front page in order to highlight the discount which may belisted in the index or table-of-contents.

[0072] The booklet of the present invention includes a single bar codewhich entitles the consumer to a plurality of the discounts in thebooklet. It will be instantly appreciated that this advantageouslyallows the consumer to carry a single, convenient and compact bookrepresentative of a plurality of coupons without the necessity or hassleof carrying detachable or detached coupons. It will further beappreciated that the book arrangement allows the consumer to easily holdthe booklet along the common edge in the palm of one hand while flippingthrough the pages quickly and conveniently as a book rather thandetached coupons. In at least one embodiment, the booklet isself-contained and has no detachable parts such that the consumeradvantageously maintains all of the information in a neat, compactbooklet without the problems of messy, detachable or detached coupons orinformation.

[0073] In addition, the consumer may not need to examine the booklet atall; and may simply submit the booklet upon each shopping transactionfor scanning to obtain the discounts which coincidentally are in thebooklet. Further, the consumer may use the booklet a number of timeswhich obviates the need for coupon hunting and clipping. The products inthe booklet may be discounted once or a plurality of times according torecords maintained by the back end apparatus of the present invention.

[0074] The bar code may be a UPC code but, alternatively, may be anothertype of code such as an extended code which contains manufacturer, valueor family information. This is particularly advantageous in marketingwhere the booklets may be mailed to a particular family with a uniquefamily code which identifies for the retailer/manufacturer which familyis purchasing a particular product or products. This information may beprocessed by the present invention and relayed to the manufacturer inthe form of a demographics marketing report for future marketing toeither the family or region where the family lives.

[0075] The booklet of the present invention in at least one embodimentis substantially rectangular in shape having front and back covers witha common edge and pages therebetween. The common edge may be formed of aspine or a folded line of a number of papers. Alternatively, the frontand back covers and in-between pages may be coupled together by anysuitable fixing method such as staples, glue or a spiral binder or thelike. While the booklet of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and7 as being substantially rectangular with uniform edges, it is withinthe present invention that the booklet may be in another shape and/ormay have non-uniform edges. The booklet of the present invention mayinclude tabs on the pages which may be labeled with an indicator therebyproviding an index.

[0076] The booklet of the present invention may provide discounts ordiscounted prices for items purchased. In addition, or in thealternative, the items purchased using the booklet may provide theconsumer with other entitlements, including the coupon entitlementsdescribed herein with reference to FIGS. 3A-4C. In addition, or in thealternative, the entitlements may be a credit granted to the consumerwhich may credit an account held electronically for the consumer. Acredit may be different from a coupon discount because a credit isapplied to a future transaction not necessarily related to the presenttransaction. Such credit accounts may be, for example, a vacationaccount which accumulates credit for the consumer for cash value oritems purchased at a later date for the consumer's vacation. The accountmay also be a holiday or birthday account for saving credit for cashvalue or to be applied to items purchased for a holiday or birthday. Theaccount may be a tuition savings account whereby credits are applied tothe tuition of the consumer or relative of the consumer. The creditaccount may be an account for cash value including an interest bearingaccount which accumulates interest such as a money market account. Itwill be appreciated that the credit accounts of the present inventionadvantageously promotes loyalty of the consumer to the retailer,manufacturer or service corporation.

[0077] The system of the present invention may include the manner inwhich the booklet is distributed and used. In at least one embodiment,the booklet is issued for predetermined time periods such as monthly inride-along direct mail pieces to consumers. Participating stores whichparticipate in the system may have a list of offers downloaded to eitherthe store server or the back end processor described herein. When theconsumer checks out, the booklet is handed to the cashier who scans thesingle bar code on the booklet. It will be instantly appreciated thatthis advantageously allows the consumer to obtain any discounts whichmay be available without the consumer having to find the discount. Thesystem of the present invention may automatically transfer theinformation and/or the electronic fund transfer at predeterminedintervals such as nightly. At the end of the predetermined time period,a new booklet is distributed and the previous information is eitherautomatically deleted or replaced by new information. It may be alsowithin the processing of the present invention to establish payment ofthe booklets, the distribution and/or number of items in the booklet. Itis also within the present invention to establish a partnership with abank or other financial institution to establish savings accounts forconsumers from and through direct deposit of the savings the consumerreceives by utilizing the booklet in accordance with the credit aspectof the present invention.

[0078] The booklet may also include, as shown in FIG. 7G, extended front702 and back covers 704 which extend past the pages encloseabletherebetween. In one embodiment, the extended portion is a tab oropposing tabs 734(a) and 734(b) formed which may be detachable along aperforated edge 736. An advertisement 738, which may include a coupon,may be provided on the tab. It will be appreciated that the tab easilydistinguishes the booklet of the present invention from junk mail.

[0079] The processing steps for the integrated coupon booklet are shownin FIG. 5A. In step S500, the coupon booklet is presented and in stepS502 the booklet is scanned. In step S504 it is determined whether thebar code, such as a UPC, is readable and in step S506 the operatormanually keys in the booklet bar code when unreadable. In step S508, itis determined whether the bar code is valid and, when invalid, it isdetermined that an incorrect format of the bar code is scanned in stepS510 and manual entry of the bar code by, for example, a keypad isretried in step S506. In the alternative, when it is determined that thebar code is invalid it is further decided that, for example, an expiredbooklet is granted a grace period such as one day or week in step S512and/or the maximum number of uses of the booklet is extended in stepS514. The results of the processing in steps S512 and S514 are recordedand may be reported in the report(s).

[0080] When it is determined that the bar code is valid, processing instep S514 compares a customer order to a coupon table which may containone or more pieces of discounting information relating to a discount,credit or rebate relating to a particular item. The table may bedownloaded/updated by the central processing computer of the presentinvention. When no match is determined in step S516 between a particularsales transaction and coupon information, the discount for that item isignored in step S518. Otherwise, control advances to step S520 whereinthe discount is authorized. In step S522, the item authorized for adiscount is added to a list. In step S524, detailed and/or summaryreports of the discounts are stored and/or printed and in step S526 thebooklet discount is added to a total to be forwarded to a particularmanufacturer for redemption.

[0081]FIG. 5B sets forth steps S528-S556 for processing coupons orbooklet (see FIG. 5B) according to the non-integrated system which aresimilar to the steps set forth in FIG. 5A.

[0082] The present coupon processing may be set forth in a computerprogram which may be stored in a suitable medium such as an optical diskor the like.

[0083] As is to be appreciated, finding, cutting out, and carrying alarge number of coupons may be inconvenient for a customer. The presentinvention provides a booklet which overcomes these disadvantages. Suchpresent booklet will now be described.

[0084] It will be appreciated that, while the present invention wasdescribed in terms of coupon redemption, the present is not limitedthereto and is applicable to other forms of redemption such as rebatesor credit accounts.

[0085] Although the booklet present invention has been described with asingle bar code only for each booklet, it is within the presentinvention to include one or more bar codes each representing a pluralityof items in the booklet.

[0086] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention andmodifications thereof have been described in detail herein, it is to beunderstood that this invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments and modifications, and that other modifications andvariations may be effected by one skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coupon booklet for use by a customer at anumber of stores, said booklet comprising: a front cover and a backcover having a common edge; a number of pages each coupled to saidcommon edge; a listing of a plurality of items entitled to discounts;and a single bar code identifying said plurality of items; wherein saidfront and back covers and said number of pages are coupled to saidcommon edge such that said front and back cover and said number of pagesare openable and closeable in a book-like manner.
 2. The bookletaccording to claim 1, further comprising a table of contents whichidentifies types of items set forth in said listing.
 3. The bookletaccording to claim 1, wherein said listing is arranged in index form. 4.The booklet according to claim 3, wherein said index form includeshaving said plurality of items arranged alphabetically.
 5. The bookletaccording to claim 3, wherein said index form includes having saidplurality of items arranged according to food or product groups.
 6. Thebooklet according to claim 5, wherein each group includes sub-headingsarranged according to a brand of a respective item or items.
 7. Thebooklet according to claim 6, wherein said sub-headings of each brand isfurther sub-divided by item.
 8. The booklet according to claim 4,wherein an indicator of a respective group is provided adjacent to therespective group.
 9. The booklet according to claim 3, wherein saidindex form includes having said plurality of items arranged according toprice.
 10. The booklet according to claim 3, wherein said index formincludes having said plurality of items arranged according tomanufacturers.
 11. The booklet according to claim 3, wherein saidlisting arranged in said index form indicates a credit for each itemwhich is receivable upon purchase thereof and wherein said credit isapplicable to a future transaction unrelated to a present transaction.12. The booklet according to claim 11, wherein said credit is applied toany of a number of accounts of said customer.
 13. The booklet accordingto claim 11, wherein one of said accounts is a holiday savings account.14. The booklet according to claim 12, wherein one of said accounts is avacation savings account.
 15. The booklet according to claim 11, whereinone of said accounts is a tuition savings account.
 16. The bookletaccording to claim 12, wherein one of said accounts is aninterest-bearing account.
 17. The booklet according to claim 3, whereinsaid index form is color-coded.
 18. The booklet according to claim 3,wherein said index form is color-coded in accordance with a type of saidplurality of items.
 19. The booklet according to claim 3, wherein theindex form is color-coded according to a food or product group of saidplurality of items.
 20. The booklet according to claim 3, wherein saidindex form includes at least one miniature picture of a respective itementitled to a discount which is positioned proximate the listing of saidrespective item.
 21. The booklet according to claim 3, whereinsub-headings of said index form are segregated by lateral dividinglines.
 22. The booklet according to claim 21, wherein said lateraldividing lines are variably spaced forming variable-sized portionstherebetween in accordance with a number of items indexed betweenadjacent lateral dividing lines.
 23. The booklet according to claim 1,wherein said booklet is rectangular in shape.
 24. The booklet accordingto claim 23, wherein said common edge comprises a spine for binding saidfront and back covers with said pages.
 25. The booklet according toclaim 23, wherein said booklet has dimensions of approximately 3.5inches by 6 inches.
 26. The booklet according to claim 1, furthercomprising areas for advertisements.
 27. The booklet according to claim1, wherein said single universal product code is formed on said backcover.
 28. The booklet according to claim 1, wherein a date indicating atime period in which said booklet is effective is on said front cover.29. The booklet according to claim 3, wherein said index form isarranged by type at the top edge of each page.
 30. The booklet accordingto claim 29, wherein said type includes one or more types includinggroceries, appliances, cameras, film and cookware.
 31. The bookletaccording to claim 29, wherein said types are color-coded.
 32. Thebooklet according to claim 3, further comprising advertisements in theform of coupons emphasizing a particular item entitled to the discountindicated in said listing arranged in said index form.
 33. The bookletaccording to claim 1, further comprising tab means formed along an edgeof said booklet for extending said booklet in a particular direction.34. The booklet according to claim 33, wherein said tab means isdetachably coupled to said front and back covers along said edge whensaid booklet is in a closed arrangement such that said booklet isopenable when said tab means is detached from said edge.
 35. The bookletaccording to claim 33, wherein said tab means includes advertising meansfor distinguishing said booklet from junk mail.